Articles Tim McCollum Jul 27, 2023
Theresa Grafenstine received Internal Auditor magazine’s Thurston Award, while The IIA honored Rainer Lenz, Jorge Badillo Ayala, and Paul Sobel. The Institute also recognized practitioners who had the top CIA and CRMA exam scores.
Theresa Grafenstine, CAE of Pentagon Federal Credit Union, received Internal Auditor magazine’s John B. Thurston Award as The IIA honored top auditor achievements at the 2023 International Conference in Amsterdam. Grafenstine’s article, “The Elements of Cyber Risk Coverage,” was honored as the most outstanding feature article that appeared in Internal Auditor magazine in 2022.
In her August 2022 article, Grafenstine urged auditors to step out of their comfort zone to assess their organization’s cybersecurity readiness, providing advice for addressing key risk areas. “Learning how to assess cybersecurity and technology is like any other new proficiency,” she wrote. “Auditors need to take those initial steps to get started and do what internal audit does best: Do a little homework and ask good questions.”
The magazine also recognized runners-up for the Thurston Award as outstanding contributors:
During the International Conference, The IIA honored the career achievements of a trio of internal audit leaders.
Rainer Lenz received the Bradford Cadmus Memorial Award, which recognizes individuals who have influenced the internal audit profession through advancements in research, education, and publications. Lenz worked as a chief financial officer and CAE at global organizations for more than 30 years, and has taught internal audit and governance courses at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany.
“My purpose all along the way has been making internal auditing more effective in practice,” he said in a video. “We can do more. We can do better.”
The IIA awarded Jorge Badillo Ayala the Victor Z. Brink Award for Distinguished Service, which recognizes individuals who have given outstanding service to the profession over time through their participation in The Institute. Badillo Ayala, internal audit manager at SCM Minera Lumina Copper Chile, has volunteered with The IIA and the Latin American Federation of Internal Auditors throughout his 26-year career. He served on The Institute’s Global Board of Directors from 2014 to 2018.
“My participation as a volunteer in IIA activities is guided by gratitude and passion for the profession,” Badillo Ayala said in a video.
Paul Sobel was awarded the William G. Bishop III, CIA Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes individuals who have impacted the practice of internal auditing, advanced awareness of The IIA, and inspired professionals globally.
Widely recognized as an expert on enterprise risk management, governance, compliance, and internal control, Sobel was the 2013-2014 IIA Global Board Chair. He was chair of COSO from 2018 to 2022 and was involved in developing that organization’s Enterprise Risk Management–Integrating Strategy With Performance framework. He is a senior advisor to The IIA’s IPPF Evolution project to develop the new Global Internal Audit Standards.
“I’m very gratified that in my own small way, I’ve been able to help elevate this profession that I love,” Sobel said in a video.
Also at the conference, The IIA recognized the top performers on the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) exams in 2022. Fehr Aljefri (pictured) of the Saudi Institute of Internal Auditors won the CIA Exam Gold Award for achieving the highest score on the CIA exam. The Silver Award went to Joey Sacramento Jr. of IIA–Philippines, while Shirley Liwen Zhang of IIA–China earned the Bronze Award.
The award for the top student score on the CIA Exam went to Briana Dincher of Pace University. Blair Wightman (pictured) of IIA–New Zealand won the award for top score on the CRMA exam.